A Rare Bird
by DarthRandom
Summary: Members of the Uchiha clan were responsible for both his greatest happiness and his most painful sorrow. An Uchiha caused the Kyuubi attack. An Uchiha planted the seeds of his code as a shinobi. And that oath to never go back on his word drives him to the end, even as that Uchiha's brother proves to be his best friend, his fiercest rival, and his most dangerous enemy. AU Fem!Itachi


Read and Review

Just an experiment.

I kept Itachi's name because it means weasel, and weasels are apparently bad omens in Japanese mythology.

XXXXX

She had seen him many, many times. He was frequently running around the marketplace, looking for something good to eat. Shame, since he was only a young child, orphaned by the calamity involving the Kyuubi.

He was its container, Uzumaki Naruto.

Being the heiress to the still-prestigious Uchiha clan, the official line was that thirteen year old Itachi couldn't interact with the village pariah, due to the clan's already suspect standing in the eyes of many within the village, particularly the military. That was due to the popular-enough sentiment that the Uchiha had something to do with the Kyuubi's apparently unprovoked attack.

And frankly, she had never truly felt a strong enough urge to act in his favor – yes, she felt sympathy, but that was more of a vague sentiment than it was a strong emotional response.

But for some reason, seeing the eight year old boy looking so lonely and out of place pulled at her heartstrings. The fact that he was the same age as her beloved little brother certainly didn't help, in that regard.

It was enough for her to take a step away from her mother and younger brother, and towards the boy standing sullenly to the side of the market, his usual energy (and what many would call obnoxiousness) seemingly drained. Her family looked at the backside of her ponytailed black hair curiously, confused as to what exactly she was doing.

One step became another, and another, and eventually, there was no doubt as to who she was approaching. Along the way, she purchased a fresh apple. After all, she had always heard that food was a good way to make someone happy.

Once she was only a few feet away from the boy, he finally looked up at her, seeming a little surprised that someone was going out of their to interact with him; usually, he was just overlooked or ignored.

Uchiha Itachi offered him a soft smile.

"Hello. Are you hungry?"

His longing stare at the offered apple was answer enough. Still, he didn't seem to know how to react, so she simply took his hand and put the fruit inside.

"Here, take it. It will make you feel better, I hope."

Naruto looked as if he was becoming a little emotional, so she turned around, unsure of how to respond to such a thing. As she was taking her first step back towards her openly surprised mother, she heard him call out to her.

"Thanks, lady! What's your name!?" More than a couple pairs of eyes turned to face the source of such loud yelling.

"My name is Itachi. And yours?" She said, turning around to face him again. She really had no idea why she was feeling so abnormally sociable today.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Are we friends now? The old man told me that friends are people who are nice to each other! And I promise I'll be super nice to you!"

His beaming grin was probably enough to ensure that she respond in the positive, but what really pushed it past the point of no return was the single happy tear trailing down the left side of his face.

"Yes, Naruto. I suppose that we're friends now." She hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to make the commitment she was about to make to an impressionable boy. The pure happiness she saw when she had said that they were friends made her decision for her.

"I have to go now, but… I'll see you again, Naruto. Okay?"

His eyes were shining.

"Promise?"

She smiled at him again, a little bigger this time.

"Yes, I promise."

With that, she turned, and walked back to her mother, who, Itachi was surprised to note, was sporting a small but sincere smile of her own.

The strings of fate were pulled apart and rearranged.

XXXXX

At only the tender age of thirteen, she was already a liar and a killer. Lying to a child would have been far from the worst thing she had ever done, even if the child was a lonely orphan.

She had, after all, played a part in the creation of so many children just like that during her career.

But seeing that young boy's smile had inexplicably made her happy, if only for a short time. So she found it almost absurdly difficult to consider breaking the promise she had made only the week before. He offered her a short reprieve from her conflicting duties to her village and to her clan.

As an ANBU captain, it made sense for her to know where one of the village's most vital assets was located. So here she was, approaching the boy's apartment, granted to him because of the fact that being ignored at an orphanage would undoubtedly have negative effects.

At least this way, if he had to be lonely, he would at least get the hang of living on his own. And the Third could still easily keep an eye on the boy.

Still...

It was a sad fact of life in a hyper-militarized society that it wasn't so uncommon for young children to be forced to fend for themselves.

While normally she wouldn't have the free time to do such a thing, the Hokage had apparently been concerned about her mental health, considering the fact that spying on your own family to try and prevent a civil war was rather stressful. So a little bit of down time was in order.

Naturally, this had the side effect of offending her proud father, who merely took it as another sign that the Uchiha were being purposefully stifled.

Brushing aside such thoughts, she proceeded to knock on the boy's door, only stopping when her finely trained senses clued her in to the sound of a child sobbing.

Itachi hesitated once more. Should she go inside and comfort the boy? Or would it be better to simply turn around and leave? Apparently, the fact that she only outwardly showed emotion around her younger brother had also made her very unused to dealing with the feelings of other people.

Deciding that listening to her emotions had been the better choice before, in the marketplace, she opened the locked door with ease before making her presence known.

"Naruto?"

"G-go away!" Came the muffled, sobbed out response.

Setting down the apple that she had brought, she hesitantly moved towards what she assumed was his bedroom. She found him sitting on his bed, crying his heart out. Acting on instinct, she walked towards him and slowly put her hand on his shoulder, unsure of what to do next.

She was definitely surprised when he latched on to her and hugged her as tightly as he could, essentially forcing her to take a seat next to him.

"W-why am I all alone? It hurts! It hurts…"

His pained statement caused a pang in her own heart, and she put her arms around his smaller frame.

"…You have me here, Naruto," she let out, almost unintentionally.

He only responded by gripping her tighter, although it seemed like his sobbing had slowed down a bit.

"You k-kept your p-promise."

She smiled down at him.

"A good friend always keeps their promises, Naruto."

As she held onto the sad blonde boy, she had no way of knowing what she had done. All she would know is that that night, she could sleep a little better, knowing that she had helped a sad child.

The seeds were sown for what would later be known as a truly unbreakable will.

XXXXX

"Itachi, the situation with your clan is reaching a boiling point… you know as well as I do that the chances of this being resolved without bloodshed are now slimmer than ever."

Itachi said nothing.

"I am also certain that you are aware of what would happen, should your family go through with their plans. A coup attempt would drag our village into civil war… and inevitably, into another _world_ war."

As the Hokage took another pause to let her mull over his statement, Itachi's mind was ridden with all of the scenarios in which her brother was seriously hurt or worse due to her clan's treachery.

Surprisingly, she was also struck by how much her heart clenched when she realized that, should Konoha be forced into another global conflict, Naruto would undoubtedly be conscripted due to his hidden power. He too, would constantly be in serious danger, because of how tactically valuable he was.

Both of their childhoods would be taken from them by the cruel hands of war.

She would never let her clan's actions endanger her brother, and she would never let them destroy the innocence of her blonde… friend. Yes, she supposed that she did consider him a friend, since he so desperately seemed to consider her as one of his. And if that was the case, it would make him a part of very rare company.

Long ago, she vowed that, as long as she had the power to do so, she would always keep her brother safe... but now, Naruto's safety was important to her as well.

Regardless of whether or not the Hokage and her father managed to come to some kind of terms, she had her resolution: to protect her brother, to protect Naruto, and to protect her village.

XXXXX

She never committed to any plans or appointments. That didn't mean that she didn't go out of her way to at least speak with blonde boy, if she had any free time that wasn't given to her brother.

Naruto never seemed to mind. If anything, he was painfully grateful for the fact that anyone spent any time at all, even if it only meant caring about how his day was. She rarely did anything beyond that, and, when she did, it was nothing more than occasionally bringing him a fresh fruit.

For anyone other than her brother and her best friend, such a thing was an extremely rare display of fondness. Not that he had any real sense of the scale of such emotions.

"Itachi! Everyone looks up to you! I wanna be a great ninja like you! No, better! I'm gonna be Hokage, and then everyone's gonna have to pay attention to me!"

Not yet, anyways.

Though her slight chuckles were only barely audible, they were undoubtedly genuine.

XXXXX

Shisui was dead. Her best friend was dead. In his last moments of life, he was without his eyes. His left eye was removed and entrusted to her, so that it may protect the village after its owner had passed. His right eye was stolen by Danzo, who would use its power to defend the village by his own methods.

Shisui was dead.

"Shisui…"

A single rivulet of bloody tears made its way down her face. In her eyes, a three pronged pinwheel pattern made its first appearance.

XXXXX

"Your clan will doom this village, Itachi."

Uchiha Itachi stood before Shimura Danzo in one of his many hidden ROOT locations. After all, to discuss what he had called her there to discuss without the permission of the Hokage? Even the kindhearted, naïve man wearing the mantle of Fire Shadow would have him executed.

"Hiruzen's attempts to keep the peace by diplomacy and negotiating is failing – has failed already. You know as well as I do that the coup is essentially guaranteed."

Danzo's lone visible eye narrowed. The wrinkles on his face, illuminated by dim candlelight, did not make him seem feeble in his age. No, they did the exact opposite.

They gave him the appearance of strength, with the wisdom that a long life in service had granted him. The elder's lips curled into a grimace as he gave his next offer in a stern tone.

"But you can stop this. You can ensure that our village is not weakened from within by traitors."

The muscles in Itachi's jaw tensed ever so slightly. Danzo ignored her and continued speaking.

"The Uchiha must be eliminated."

Danzo was almost certain that the girl standing before him would eventually make the right decision. However, _eventually_ was unacceptable. Time was of the essence.

And so he guaranteed that she would make the correct decision right then and there.

"Do so willingly, and I will see to it that your brother is spared. Your clan's name will not be publicly smeared with the taint of treachery, and young Sasuke will live. Right now, he knows nothing. But once your clan moves forward… he will learn everything."

Danzo cleared his throat once before continuing, his voice like steel.

"Watching his clan annihilated to the last by Konoha shinobi will give him a desire for revenge. And then, we will have no choice but to kill him."

He paused, allowing the threat to sink in.

"You can join the Uchiha in civil war, and die with your family. Or you can join Konoha, leave your brother behind, and help us maintain the strength of our great village." Danzo's eye narrowed as he delivered his final statement.

The choice was right there in front of her. Would she choose her clan? Or would she choose the village, her little brother's life, and the peace that they enjoyed?

As painful as it was, her decision was clear, and Danzo knew that as well.

She showed nothing as she quietly agreed, bowed out of obligation, and left.

Danzo stood alone, satisfied that the Uchiha would no longer be a threat to Konoha.

XXXXX

Her behavior had been increasingly erratic, as the Uchiha who had accused her of harboring traitorous thoughts had found out. She had tried telling them, in her own way, to put an end to their folly. That by focusing on trivial things like their own power, they would doom the entire village and the peace that it enjoyed.

Even her father had lost hope in bringing her fully into the fold.

Her best friend, whose murder she was accused of, was dead, her clan was moving ahead with its plans to betray Konoha at full speed, and she was caught in the middle.

The only constants were her beloved little brother, and the blonde boy who she would selfishly burden with keeping an eye out for him.

"Itachi? You look sad today."

Even her emotional control was wavering, like a rock eroding in the face of time. Her whole world was slowly crumbling around her, and she was being carried away by the tide, helpless to stop it.

Her actions would damn her. And, in time, they would prove to damn Naruto as well.

She turned to face the blonde boy who looked up at her, his bright blue eyes shining with curiosity. Presenting a small smile that could only assuage the concerns of a socially oblivious child such as him, Itachi bent down so that their eye levels were closer.

As childish, shining blue peered into mature, weary onyx, Itachi said the words that would influence the boy for a lifetime.

"Naruto."

He looked at her attentively, surprised that his older friend sounded even a little bit urgent. Usually she was cool and calm, not showing anything other than a small smile here or there.

"I have a little brother," she continued. "You two are about the same age, and he is in the academy as well…"

She smiled at him, further locking him in.

"If anything bad were to ever happen to me, could I trust you to take care of him? To be his friend?"

He was dazed. He hadn't ever been trusted with anything. Now, that his first friend was asking him to do her a favor? It would be much faster to list the things he _wouldn't_ do, at this point.

His response showed how he felt.

"Wha…? Yeah! Yeah, you can trust me! Always!" His energetic agreement was accompanied by equally enthusiastic nodding; his teeth were displayed prominently in a wide grin that had the effect of making it look like his whiskers were scrunching up along with his cheeks.

"Also… please, never tell anyone about this conversation. About me asking you to be his friend and take care of him. It can be our little secret."

Forcing a small laugh at the end, Itachi couldn't help but feel guilty. With everything that she had said just now…

For Naruto, saying no was simply unfathomable. He indicated as much by nodding again, his expression changing into what he must have thought was a serious one.

Now, to strike the anvil one last time.

"Do you promise?"

He lost his serious expression as quickly as he had found it, as his sunny grin showed itself once again.

"Yeah! I promise! It's like you told me: a good friend always keeps their promises!"

She didn't say anything. Instead, she merely poked him in the forehead, as she often did to her brother.

"Ow! Hey!"

Itachi stood up straight and half turned away.

"Naruto," she said, in that quiet manner of hers. "I've got to go now. Be good…"

By now, she had completely turned to face the door of his apartment. She was caught off guard by her own words, as they forced themselves out before she could think.

"Never give up on your dream… and please, never forget your promise."

She left, even as the boy repeated his compliance.

It would be a long time before they met again.

XXXXX

Her bloody work was almost finished. Every kill so far had been painful, as if her heart was sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.

Still, those feelings paled in comparison to what she felt as she took in the sight of her parents' backs as they sat on their knees before her, not facing the murderer of their family. Not facing their once so esteemed daughter.

Uchiha Fugaku spoke first.

"…So you're on their side now."

Even though she had chosen her village and her brother over her clan, she still felt the need to explain herself to her parents. She owed them that much, and so much more.

"I… Mother… Father…" Her speech failed her. How could she justify what she had done? What she was about to do?

What was a thirteen year old child to do, when burdened with the task of killing her own family?

Her mother spared her the pain of attempting to speak past the lump in her throat.

"We understand, Itachi…"

"H-huk!" She let out a sob as the tears began to flow down her face, unasked for and yet unending. She could feel her whole body trembling, her ponytail shaking with every uncontrollable shake of her shoulders. Itachi grit her teeth as she attempted to get herself under control, when her father decided to speak.

"Itachi… promise me one last thing."

Her eyes shot up in surprise, as she prepared to take in her father's last request.

"…!"

"Take care of Sasuke."

Her tears burst forth with newfound intensity. If only…

_I'm so sorry mother, father… Sasuke._

With trembling hands and clenched teeth, she took hold of her blade and delivered the one thousandth cut.

XXXXX

"If you want to kill me, then despise me, hate me, and live in an unsightly way... Run, and cling to life, and then some day, when you have eyes like mine come before me."

The words were like ashes in her mouth, but she forced them out anyways. Dropping her now thoroughly traumatized brother in a small puddle of his own drool and tears, Itachi jumped onto a nearby rooftop, ready to leave her brother behind for good.

Sparing one last look at the place she had called home, Itachi allowed herself one more tear before she jumped into the night, her form swallowed by the darkness.

She could only hope that Sasuke would become strong enough to kill her and avenge their family. Strong enough to restore the honor of the Uchiha and have his reckoning. Strong enough to free them both from the hell that she had created for the sake of keeping him safe.

And she prayed that the gods would forgive her for the promise that she had asked of a lonely blonde orphan... no. She prayed that Naruto would someday forgive her for the suffering she had asked him to bear.

Her words sank deep into Sasuke's mind, waiting to resurface in the future.

_To achieve this power... you must kill your closest friend._

XXXXX

It was impossible to remain ignorant of what had transpired just the night before.

Uchiha Itachi had massacred her entire clan, save for her younger brother.

The village was thrown into grief and confusion. She was among the best the village had to offer: a prodigy among prodigies. She was the golden child of Konoha's future.

What madness had driven her to commit such a crime? No one had an adequate answer.

The village grieved for a destroyed clan, for lost friends, and for Uchiha Sasuke, who had been forced to live through an unspeakable tragedy at such a young age.

So great was the village's mourning that Naruto's presence was hardly registered, no matter where he was.

So great was Naruto's disbelief that the temporary reprieve from the villagers' glares went unnoticed.

He had just overheard a group of people talking about what was being called the Uchiha Massacre.

"W-what?... I-Itachi wouldn't..."

He couldn't let them lie about his friend like that.

"Hey! Stop! Stop lying! Itachi would never do that! She's my friend!"

The gossiping men and women turned their heads, expressions morphing into scowls when they saw who had interrupted them. While several of the assembled men and women were tempted to respond, having been reminded of another tragedy the village had suffered, none of them did.

They simply left, before anyone said anything that the law would have them regret.

Naruto's satisfaction was short-lived – even though he _knew_ Itachi would never kill her family...

The old man would have an answer.

XXXXX

Danzo looked over reports from his various agents regarding the state of the village.

Itachi had done her job perfectly. The Uchiha were dead, and their threat died with them. The village was in disarray, but it would move on.

Acceptable.

Burning the status report, Danzo moved onto the next one, regarding Uzumaki Naruto.

Interesting.

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, had shown something other than his typical behavior. Even though Hiruzen had refused him the opportunity to hone the boy into Konoha's ace, Danzo still maintained surveillance on the child, if only to make sure that there were no subversive elements in the boy's life that could influence him away from the village.

Of course he had been aware of Itachi's more recent friendship with the container. That same soft-heart had been what allowed him to convince her to destroy her own clan, after all.

It didn't concern him. Itachi was almost the epitome of shinobi, her loyalty to Konoha shining brightly over even her own family – excluding her brother. It still put a foul taste in his mouth to think about how she had threatened selling village secrets to rivals over the sake of one child.

Nonetheless, Danzo could have chosen few better role models for the blonde to pursue.

And according to this information, the boy had finally demonstrated something other than the emotional troubles that one might expect of both an orphan and an outcast.

An "opportunity to live normally," indeed. But if the boy was finally showing some loyalty to something, and the passion necessary to defend it (even if it was just a spark), perhaps Hiruzen had not been as wrong as he had thought.

True, such a meager display of loyalty was normally hardly anything worth noting.

But this wasn't a normal person.

This was the hammer that would shatter the backs of those who refused to see Konoha's superiority.

If Danzo could harvest the boy's passion and turn it towards defending the village...

Even though the Third's watchful eye made it nearly impossible to take the boy and turn him into the village's tool, the commander of Root was not dissuaded.

The village might not have its perfect weapon, but it could still have its perfect and most loyal _soldier_.

Danzo's eye shone with visions of Konoha's new golden age.

XXXXX

Naruto stood before the Third Hokage, who sat waiting for the boy to speak, despite the fact that he was fairly certain he knew what Naruto would ask.

"Old man! I have a friend, Itachi, and people are saying she killed her family! Do something!"

Of course he knew about Naruto's growing attachment to the Uchiha girl. Even though he had no doubts about Itachi's loyalty, it never hurt to be cautious. Especially when it came to the son that his successor had entrusted to him.

His genuine care for the demon container and Naruto's tactical value conveniently went hand in hand, at any rate.

Sarutobi looked at the boy with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry Naruto... Here, they are not in the wrong."

Naruto's face scrunched up in anger, his blue eyes shining in disbelief.

"But, but! She would never do that! They're lying!"

The Hokage got out of his seat and knelt before the child in front of him, grasping his shoulders comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, my boy. It is the truth," Sarutobi said, like a comforting grandfather in his demeanor.

Naruto clenched his small fists, still unwilling to believe it.

Even he could figure out that Itachi was gone, and she wasn't coming back. But she was still his friend, and he had made her a promise. She asked him to look after her brother; she wasn't some heartless monster.

Right there, he also made a promise to himself: he would learn the truth about what happened that night, if nothing else. The young boy refused to believe that Itachi, who had been nothing but nice to him, was capable of such a crime.

It wasn't the first promise he had made for an Uchiha, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.


End file.
